We get some spectacular lightning storms, issues with hangin during one?

[MacEntyre]

There was a guy who died from lightning while hanging in his hammock a few years back.

Here's a link to one such death in 2006.

...another link about the same story:

Kayaker killed in hammock by lightning
Wednesday, June 28, 2006, 5:57:00 AM

...story in the local kayaking group: Camper is found dead after storm

Holmdel man's death blamed on lightning
Sunday, June 25, 2006 BY JOHN WIHBEY AND PAULA SAHA Star-Ledger Staff

Kayakers at Round Valley Reservoir in Clinton Township [NJ] yesterday discovered the dead body of a camper who was apparently struck by lightning after spending the night in a hammock, authorities said. The 59-year-old man from the Holmdel area, whose identity was not released last night, had spent Friday on the reservoir with a kayaking group he met through a Web site, said Deputy Chief Sam DeBella of the Hunterdon County Prosecutor's Office. As night rolled around, the man went off on his own to sleep in the hammock, DeBella said. At some point overnight Friday "a violent storm came through. It appears lightning struck the tree and then struck this gentleman," DeBella said. The man was discovered yesterday afternoon when some of the other kayakers came back to get equipment from their cars, DeBella said.

[Narwhalin]

Not if it's wet... lightening travels on surfaces for the most part.

Good point, Mac.

Path of least resistance. Which in this case is down the tree to the ground. I had the exact same concerns when I started hanging. I was living in the lightning capital (Florida) at the time and had genuine concerns. After it was explained by people much smarter than me on a good day, I never worried about it again.

I would be interested to hear what those folks had to say!

[stretch]

I don't think there is any safe place in the outdoors from lightning. There are places that are more dangerous than others and things you can do to improve your chances but lightning is some powerful stuff. Trees can explode, you can get blasted out of caves/rock overhangs like you were in a cannon, it can go from trees to shelters to you, etc. Seems like lightning has killed people from out of clear skies maybe 30 minutes before a storm hit or even 30 minutes after a storm passed.

Some years ago a tree was hit by lightning in my neighborhood. The center of the tree exploded and sent peices of wood in all directions. Some of the debris landed 150+feet away.

Safest place to be would probably be inside a faraday cage (car/truck). Static electricity is a tricky buisness. It can sometimes find ways around isolators or travel over their surface. I guess all you can really do if caught in charged storm is Hope for the best.

[Heber]

Lightning is a danger but it's not clear that being on the ground during a lightning storm is any safer. Lightning doesn't go straight into the ground. It runs along the surface of the ground as well and will shock you if you are on the ground NEAR a lightning strike.

We get some pretty good storms here in Missouri too but I think most of the danger comes from the wind, not the lightning. I'm more afraid of the large limbs (or even trees!) that might fall on me during a storm.

[Narwhalin]

We get some pretty good storms here in Missouri too but I think most of the danger comes from the wind, not the lightning. I'm more afraid of the large limbs (or even trees!) that might fall on me during a storm.

This is a great point which emphasises the importance of checking for dead limbs when setting up camp (something that should be done in a tent, as well! ).

[Ordin_Aryguy]

Lightning travels across miles of sky. A few inches of ground pad, or poly rope, is meaningless in comparison.

Without shelter, and a tent doesn't really count either, the only thing a person can do is to get as low as possible, and stay that way until the danger has passed.

As another poster had pointed out, my biggest concern during a storm would be falling branches. More of them hit the ground during a storm than lightening strikes.


Ordin

[hootyhoo]

There is no insulator for that amount of votage. When electricians (I used to be a Union Electrical Worker) work on high line voltage there is little that will insulate - as a matter of fact in some high line work there are lines painted 5' from any metal - if you cross the line the voltage will jump to you - BOOM!. Lightning has much more voltage than the stuff we worked on.
In a tent or hangnig in a tree if its your time...its your time. They actually say that lightning strikes are often 3 miles apart - so if you just saw one 3 miles away it might be too late. Good karma is the only thing that prevents lightning strikes.

[MacEntyre]

As skipper in a sailing vessel offshore in a storm once upon a time, I hove to and shortened sail. While we were reducing sail, the lightening started up. First, there were brilliant, blinding flashes. Then, they became more frequent and you could see everything in the light, and nothing in the dark. Finally, they became so frequent that I had to shut my eyes and work by feel. The noise was deafening! I never worried that we might be hit, since there was nothing to be done about it, but the crew were shaking in their rubber boots! Once we got underway again, the light show stopped.

[Oh-No]

How safe is the hammock during a storm? I'm thinking it's not a great idea to be hangin in those situations. Thoughts?

This thread has some excellent information about lightning.
I'll summarize some of it & add my 2 cents.

Air is a good insulator and lightning can pass through miles of it.
You can be standing out on a sunny day, with blue sky overhead,
and be struck by lightning from (or to) a cloud many miles away.

So we are not going to insulate our way to safety.

The question becomes what can we do to minimize the risk.

1. Get off the ridge. i.e. don't be the highest point or even close
to the highest point.

2. Along the lines of what Narwhalin mentioned, I hang from shorter trees
and hope it's the taller trees that get hit. If there is one really tall tree in the area, I stay away from it to avoid wood shrapnel if it gets hit.

3. Prayer never hurts.